Mastic applying tool



Jan. 1, 1963 Filed Sept. 18, 1961 R. G. AMES I 3,070,827

MASTIC APPLYING TOOL 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

ROBERT G. AMES ATTORNEYS Jan. 1, 1963 R. G. AMES 3,070,827

MASTIC APPLYING TOOL Filed Sept. 18, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VEN TOR.

ROBERT 0. ,'AMES ATTORNEYS Jan. 1, 1963 R. ca. AMES 3,070,827

MASTIC APPLYING TOOL Filed Sept. 18, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR.ROBERT 6. AMES BYMMM 4 ATTORNEYS United States The present inventionrelates to improvements in a mastic applying tool and it consists in theconstructions, operations and advantages hereinafter described andclaimed.

In the use of tools for applying mastic to wall board joints asdisclosed in my Patents No. 2,711,098, No. 2,809,513, No. 2,824,442, No.2,889,699, and No. 2,889,- 965, considerable force is required tocompress the mastic-holding compartment for forcing mastic from thecompartment and onto the wall board joint. The operator must not onlyhold the tool body against the wall board by means of the tool handle,but in addition he must exert sufiicient force on the handle for causingit to move a mastic-expelling plate into the mastic-holding compartmentfor forcing the mastic from the compartment.

- -In my copending application on a mastic-feeding tool withcompressible mastic-holding compartment, filed July .10, 1961, SerialNo. 123,015, I disclose novel means on the tool handle which may beactuated by the operator for swinging a plate in the mastic-holdingcompartment and ejecting mastic therefrom for applying the mastic on dlein a novel manner and a cable is used for moving the cylinder withrespect to the piston for causing the latter to force mastic from thecylinder. The mastic outlet for the cylinder includes a spherical memberthat can receive snap-on heads of different types for differentpurposes.

The present tool is designed to permit the tool head to be applied to aroom corner and the design of the tool and its handle is such that thegreatest amount of pressure from the handle will be directed at the toolhead regardless of the particular angle the axis of the masticholdingcylinder may make with the wall board surface on which the mastic isbeing applied.

Another object of the invention is the change in the mechanism on thehandle for winding the cable on the drum for forcing mastic from thecylinder and the release of the drum from a holding device when theoperator wants to relieve pressure from the cylinder. In my copendingcase, above mentioned, the drum is rotated by a handwheel. In thepresent case, a rockable arm is added for stepwise rotating the drum.

Other objects and advantages will appear as the specification continues.The novel features of the invention will be set forth in the appendedclaims.

Drawings For a better understanding of my invention, reference .shouldbe had to the accompanying drawings, forming --part of thisspecification, in which:

atctit o Patented Jan. 1, 1963 ice FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of thedevice showing the cylinder filled with mastic;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged showing of a mastic applying tool head appliedto the conical end of the mastic holding cylinder;

FIGURE 3 is a longitudinal sectional view through the device, portionsbeing shown in elevation;

FIGURE 4 is a transverse section taken along the line 44 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a side elevation of the portion of the tool handle thatcarries the cable-receiving drum and its actuating mechanism;

FIGURE 6 is a top plan view of FIGURE 5; and

FIGURE 7 is a side elevation taken by rotating the handle andcable-receiving drum of FIGURE 5 180 about the longitudinal axis of thehandle.

While I have shown only the preferred form of my invention, it should beunderstood that various changes, or modifications, may be made withinthe scope of the annexed claims without departing from the spiritthereof.

Detailed Description 9, 1959, I show a member with a similar hollowconical portion for receiving mastic from a compressible compartment.The conical portion has a ball-shaped or partial spherical end thatcommunicates therewith and a mastic-applying corner head may beremovably secured to the spherical end to receive mastic therefrom andto apply it to a room corner. The structural details of themastic-applying corner head shown in FIGURE 7 of Patent No. 2,889,699are fully disclosed in my Patent No. 2,824,443, issued February 25,1958. Other types of mastic-applying heads may be snapped onto theballshaped mastic outlet 2 in the present case. The mastic applying headX is shown diagrammatically in'FIGURE 1 and more in detail in FIGURE 2.

A piston C, see FIGURE 3, is slidably mounted in the cylinder and it iscarried by a U-shaped frame D, that has a long arm 3, received in thecylinder, a short integral portion 4 that extends at right angles to thelong arm 3 and projects through and is slidably received in a slot 5 inthe cylinder A, and an integral second long arm 6, that parallels thelong arm 3, but lies outside of the cylinder A. The second long arm 6,has its free end rigidly secured at 7, to one end of an elongated handleE. The long arm 3 carries a plate 8 that has two pairs of lateralextensions 9-9 on which guide rollers F are rotatably mounted to contactwith the inner surface of the cylinder A, and guide it when the cylinderis moved along its longitudinal axis in a manner to be describedhereinafter. One pair of guide rollers F contact with the cylinder A atpoints 180 removed from the other pair of guide rollers F. I

In FIGURE 4, the plate 8 is shown having a pair of transverselyextending plates 10--10, connected thereto and projecting at rightangles to the plate 8.

Guide rollers F are rotatably mounted on the transversely extendingplates 10-10 and they contact with the inner surface of the cylinder A,at points removed from the first-mentioned pairs of guide rollers F. Thefour rollers F, and the four rollers F, support the cylinder A, andguide it in its movement with respect to the stationary piston C. Theslot 5 in the cylinder A, lies between the rollers F and F so therollers will clear the slot. The piston C has a cup-shaped washer 11facing a forwardly in the cylinder and a disc 12 holds the washer inplace.

The cover B, is provided with a mastic loading valve H, see FIGURE 3.The cover has a cylindrical inlet 13 and a spring-pressed valve 14, ismounted in the inlet and normally closes it. When a mastic feed pipe,not shown, is connected to the inlet 13, and mastic G, under pressure,is forced through the feed pipe and into the inlet 13, the valve 14 willbe opened and permit the mastic to enter the cylinder A and to move thecylinder with respect to the stationary piston C, as the cylinder isfilled. The filling operation is terminated before the piston uncoversthe longitudinal slot in the cylinder A. The spring biased check valve14 will close when no more mastic is forced through the loading valve H.

I will now describe the means for moving the cylinder A with respect tothe stationary piston C for forcing mastic from the cylinder and outthrough the spherical portion 2 and into a mastic-applying head X, thathas a universal connection with the spherical portion 2. A cable I hasone end connected to the center of a diametrically extending rod 15provided at the front end of the cylinder A. The cable extends through acentral opening 16 in the piston C and therefore the cable will bealigned with the axis of the cylinder A. The opening 16 may be rubberlined to permit passage of the cable J, but prevent mastic passingthrough the opening. An idler pulley K, is rotatably mounted on the Ushaped frame D, and the cable I is passed around it. A second idlerpulley L is rotatably mounted on the frame D and receives the cable I. Athird idler pulley M is mounted where the frame D connects with thehandle E, and the cable is passed around the idler M and will be axiallyaligned with the handle axis.

The cable I then extends to a drum N and has its free end connected tothe drum. The details of the operating mechanism for the drum are shownin FIGURES 5, 6 and 7. The handle E has an axle 17 upon which the drumN, is rotatably mounted. A ratchet P, is secured to the drum and rotatestherewith as a unit. FIGURE 6 shows the ratchet P secured to one side ofthe drum N, and a handwheel Q, secured to the other side. FIGURE 7 showsthe cable I extending through an opening 18 in the handle E and thenbeing secured to the drum N. The handwheel Q can be manually rotated forwinding the cable I on the drum N.

The drum is held in the position into which it has been rotated by aleaf spring R that is pivotally secured to the handle E by a cap screw19. The leaf spring R is normally in the full line position shown inFIGURE 6 so that the leaf spring will engage with the teeth of theratchet P and permit counterclockwise rotation of the ratchet whenlooking at FIGURE 7, but prevent clockwise rotation. The leaf spring Rhas a rounded hand gripping end 20 by means of which the leaf spring canbe swung from the full to the dot-dash line position in the direction ofthe arrow 21, shown in FIGURE 6. This swinging movement of the leafspring R in a lateral direction about the pivot 19, frees it from theratchet P and permits the drum to rotate in either direction.

I also provide novel means for step-wise advancing the drum N to windthe cable I thereon. An arm S, is rockably mounted on the shaft 17 and aspring-biased pawl T, is pivotally mounted on the arm S at 22. A springV is connected to the handle S and bears against the pawl T for urgingthe pointed end 23 in yielding engagement with the teeth on the ratchetP, see FIGURE 7. The arm S, has a hand portion 24 that can be manuallymoved toward the hand grip portion 25 for swinging the arm about itspivot 17, and moving the pawl T for rotating the ratchet P through apredetermined arc in a counterclockwise direction in FIGURE 7. A slot 26in the tubular hand grip portion 25 receives the flat portion 27 of thehand portion 24. An adjustable cap screw 27', carried by the handportion 24, strikes the tubular hand grip 25 and limits the swingingmovement of the arm S.

A coil spring U, see FIGURE 5 is connected at one end to a pin 28mounted on the arm S, and is connected at its other end to a screw 29,secured to the handle E. The coil spring U, returns the arm S to itsstarting or initial position and this is when a stop 30, see FIGURE 7,on the arm contacts with the handle E. The leaf spring R engages withthe teeth on the ratchet P to prevent clockwise rotation of the ratchetin FIGURE 7, while the pawl T rides over the ratchet teeth as the armreturns to starting position. The pawl T has a portion 31 projectingbeyond the adjacent edge 32 of the arm S and a pressing on the portion31 will free the pawl from the ratchet for a pu pose presently to bedescribed, see FIGURES 5 and 7.

Operation From the foregoing description of the various parts of thedevice, the operation thereof may be readily understood. The operatorfirst fills the cylinder A with mastic by applying a mastic feed pipe,not shown, to the mastic loading valve H. As the mastic is forced intothe cylinder A, the cylinder will be moved toward the left in FIGURE 1because the mastic will be received between the stationary piston C andthe cylinder cover B. When the desired amount of mastic has been forcedinto the cylinder, the feed pipe is disconnected from the loading valveH and the spring-biased check valve 14 will close. During the filling ofthe cylinder with mastic, the drum N has been freed so that the cable Ican feed from the drum as the cover B is moved away from the piston Cand carries the adjacent end of the cable I therewith. The drum N isfreed by the operator swinging the leaf spring pawl R from the full tothe dot-dash line position shown in FIGURE 4 and this will free the leafspring R from the ratchet P. The other spring biased pawl T is manuallyheld out of engagement with the ratchet P by the operator pressing onthe portion 31 of the pawl T, that extends beyond the edge 32 of the armS, whereby the pointed end 23 of the pawl will be freed from the ratchetP. FIGURES l, 3 and 4 show the cylinder A being provided with a stop 40and the U-shaped frame D carries a screw 41, that strikes the stop andprevents further movement of the cylinder A with respect to the pistonC, when the piston nears the inner end of the slot S. The screw 41 canbe backed away from the stop 40 by rotating the screw so that the frameD may be removed from the cylinder A for inspection if desired.

The tool, when filled with mastic, is now ready to be used. The handle Eis provided with a hand grip sleeve W which may be moved along thehandle and then secured in the desired position by tightening a setscrew 33. The operator grasps the hand grip sleeve W with his left handand then grasps the hand grip portion 25 of the handle E with his righthand. He then moves the leaf spring pawl R back to the full lineposition shown in FIGURE 6 so that the leaf spring will engage with theratchet P and prevent clockwise rotation when looking at FIGURE 7. Hethen rotates the drum N for winding the cable I thereon either byrotating the hand wheel Q or reciprocating the arm S one or more timesfor stepwise advancing the ratchet P and thed rum N for winding thecable I on the drum.

The operator continues winding the cable I on the drum N until he seesthat mastic has started to be forced from the cylinder A through theconical portion 1 and into the tool head X. The tool is now raised bythe operator so that the tool head X will contact with the surface Ythat is to receive the mastic. The desired pressure on the mastic in thecylinder A for moving the mastic to the tool head X can be applied bythe operator by simply manipulating the arm S. The movement of the armtoward the hand grip portion 25 will cause the pawl T, see FIGURE 5, torotate the ratchet P counter clockwise through an arc and to rotate thedrum N in the same direction through a similar are for winding a portionof the cable I onto the drum. When the operator releases the arm S, thespring U, see FIGURE 3, will return the arm to its initial position.During this return movement, the leaf spring pawl R will hold theratchet P from rotating in a clockwise direction in FIGURE 7 and thespring biased pawl T will have its pointed end 23 ride over the ratchetteeth into a new position on the ratchet. The operator can watch as hemanipulates the tool and see that a constant pressure on the mastic inthe cylinder A is applied by the piston C due to the cable I tending tomove the cover B toward the stationary piston C. This pressure can beconsiderably greater than that which could be applied by the operator bymerely pressing on the handle E with a force sufficient to cause thetool head X to bear on the supporting surface and move the cover Btoward the piston C. The pull of the cable I on the cover B will bealong the axis of the cylinder A and this is irrespective of the anglewhich the handle E makes with the long arm 6 of the U-shaped frame D.The bolt 7 connects the handle E with the long arm 6 and this bolt maybe tightened after the operator has determined the proper angle thehandle will make with the long arm 6. The placement of the pulleys K, Land M on the U- shaped frame D, is such that the angle of the handle Ecan be adjusted with respect to the long arm 6 and this will have noeffect upon the pull of the cable I on the cover B. This pull will be inline with the axis of the cylinder A at all times. The bolt 7 rotatablysupports the pulley M.

It is important to note that the connection between the handle E and thelong arm 6 of the U-shaped frame D is placed near the point where thetool head X communicates with the spherical joint 2, see FIGURE 3. Bythis arrangement the operator can apply force to the tool head X at apoint adjacent to the tool head and this is true whether the cylinder Ais filled with mastic or is almost completely empty of mastic. Thecylinder A will move approximately four or five inches along its lengthfrom the time the cylinder is filled wtih mastic to the time it ispractically empty. FIGURE 1 shows the cylinder A filled with mastic. Ofcourse, when the cylinder is nearly empty of mastic, the handleconnection with the long arm 6 will be as near as possible to the toolhead X. The cylinder guide rollers F and F will guide the cylinder Aalong its axis in its movement. The tool will be practically balanced onthe handle E whether full or empty because the additional weight of themastic when the tool is full will be placed near the connection 7 thatjoins the handle with the long arm 6. A balanced tool is much easier forthe operator to handle. The greatest moment of force is appliedsubstantially at the tool head X for maintaining the head in contactwith the mastic-receiving surface when the operator presses on thehandle E for moving the tool head over the surface whether the cylinderA is filled with mastic or just about empty.

It is possible to rotate the cover B through an arc of 180 with respectto the longitudinal axis of the cylinder A and this will position theconical portion 1 diametrically opposite to the position shown inFIGURE 1. This will also bring the tool head X closer to the end of thehandle E that is connected to the long arm 6. In certain instances itmay be advisable that this change be made for a better operation of thetool.

I claim:

1. In a mastic applying tool; a mastic holding cylinder; a cover closingone end of the cylinder and having an outlet for mastic; a pistonslidably mounted in the cylinder; a frame connected to the piston andextending outside of the cylinder and having a terminal po tion disposednear the mastic outlet in the cover; a mastic apply- 6 ing headcommunicating with the mastic outlet; a handle having one end connectedto the said terminal portion of the frame; means mounted on the framefor guiding the cylinder in the direction of its longitudinal axis andwith respect to the piston; and means for moving the cylinder forshortening the distance between the piston and cover; whereby mastic isforced from the cylinder and through the outlet in the cover.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1: and in which the means formoving the cylinder comprises a cable having one end connected to thecover; said piston having an opening through which the cable extends; adrum on the handle for winding the other end of the cable thereon; andcable guide means on the frame and handle for guiding the cable; saiddrum, when rotated, winding the cable thereon and pulling on the coverfor moving it and the cylinder with respect to the piston; whereby thepiston will force mastic from the cylinder through the mastic outlet andmastic applying head.

3. In a mastic applying tool; a mastic holding cylinder; a cover closingone end of the cylinder and having an outlet for mastic; a pistonslidably mounted in the cylinder; a U-shaped frame having the end of onelong arm disposed in the cylinder and connected to the piston forSupporting it; the cylinder having a slot for slidably receiving theshort portion of the frame disposed between th two long arms fordisposing the other long arm exteriorly of the cylinder; a plurality ofguide rollers mounted on the frame and adjacent to the piston forguiding the cylinder movement with respect to the piston and along thecylinder axis; the said other long arm paralleling the cylinder axis andextending toward and terminating adjacent to the cover; a handleconnected to the end of said other arm; and means for moving thecylinder with respect to the piston for causing the latter to forcemastic out through the outlet in the cover.

4. In a device of the type described; a handle; an axle carried by thehandle; a drum rotatably mounted on the axle and having a cable woundthereon; a ratchet rotatable as a unit with the drum; an arm rockablypivoted on the drum axle and having a hand portion movable toward andaway from said handle; a spring connected to the arm and handle foryieldingly swinging the arm about the axle for moving the hand portionaway from the handle; said arm having a stop engageable with said handlefor preventing further movement of the arm by the spring when the handportion is at a predetermined distance from the handle; a spring-biasedpawl mounted on the arm and engageable with said ratchet for rotating itand the drum for winding the cable thereon when the hand portion of thearm is manually moved toward the handle; a ratchet-holding leaf springpivotally carried by the handle and engaging with the ratchet forholding it in the position into which it has been rotated by said pawl;said pawl freely moving over the ratchet teeth as the arm is returned toits initial position by the spring which is when the stop strikes thehandle; said leaf spring being manually swingable laterally about itspivot to free it from the ratchet and the pawl being manually swingableto free it from the ratchet when it is desired to free the ratchet anddrum and permit the drum to rotate to unwind the cable therefrom.

5. The combination as set forth in claim 4: and in which the handportion of the arm carries an adjustable stop for contacting with thehandle for varying the arc of swing of the arm.

6. The combination as set forth in claim 4: and in which a hand wheel isoperatively connected to said drum for manually rotating the drumindependently of the arm; said ratchet teeth freely moving past the pawland leaf spring during the rotation of the wheel and drum.

No references cited.

1. IN A MASTIC APPLYING TOOL; A MASTIC HOLDING CYLINDER; A COVER CLOSINGONE END OF THE CYLINDER AND HAVING AN OUTLET FOR MASTIC; A PISTONSLIDABLY MOUNTED IN THE CYLINDER; A FRAME CONNECTED TO THE PISTON ANDEXTENDING OUTSIDE OF THE CYLINDER AND HAVING A TERMINAL PORTION DISPOSEDNEAR THE MASTIC OUTLET IN THE COVER; A MASTIC APPLYING HEADCOMMUNICATING WITH THE MASTIC OUTLET; A HANDLE HAVING ONE END CONNECTEDTO THE SAID TERMINAL PORTION OF THE FRAME; MEANS MOUNTED ON THE FRAMEFOR GUIDING THE CYLINDER IN THE DIRECTION OF ITS LONGITUDINAL AXIS ANDWITH RESPECT TO THE PISTON; AND MEANS FOR MOVING THE CYLINDER FORSHORTENING THE DISTANCE BETWEEN THE PISTON AND COVER; WHEREBY MASTIC ISFORCED FROM THE CYLINDER AND THROUGH THE OUTLET IN THE COVER.